


A Reason For The World

by Kamemor



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Elle Stayed AU, Episode: s05e01 Nameless Faceless, Found Family, Gen, Team as Family, written with autistic headcanons in mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 08:38:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13520589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamemor/pseuds/Kamemor
Summary: In an AU where Elle stayed on the team, she drives Hotch home from the hospital after the events of 'Nameless Faceless', and a favour that was so much more than a favour is returned.





	A Reason For The World

“I can’t believe you’re wearing a tie to get discharged from the hospital,” laughed a familiar voice from the direction of the door. “You know what, that’s a lie, I can totally believe it. Of course you are.” Hotch looked up to see Elle leaning casually in the doorway, her arms folded and a smile that was mostly a smirk on her face. He frowned quizzically at her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, standing up gingerly and taking one final look around his hospital room for any belongings he might be forgetting about.

“I’m here to take you home,” Elle said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hotch continued frowning.

“I thought Rossi was going to do that,” he commented. It wasn’t a question. In fact, Dave had not only said that he would drive Hotch home, but had also extracted a promise, on pain of his supreme displeasure, that Hotch wouldn’t leave the hospital unless he was present to supervise. Apparently he didn’t trust him not to discharge himself and try and make his way home under his own power. Which Hotch would have dismissed as his old friend being overprotective and paranoid, if he hadn’t seriously considered doing just that. The last thing he wanted was people making a fuss over him unnecessarily.

“I talked him into letting me do it,” said Elle, waving a hand dismissively. “You know he can’t say no to me.” Hotch almost smiled. The whole team were fully aware of just how well Elle had Rossi wrapped around her little finger, like a precocious child with an indulgent uncle. “So,” she continued, gesturing to the hold-all sitting on Hotch’s bed. “Are you going to let me carry your bag for you, or do I have to fight you for it? I’m not afraid to put an invalid in an armlock.” Hotch gave her a look, but passed the bag over anyway.

“Please don’t call me an invalid,” he said. Elle immediately looked apologetic.

“Sorry,” she said, her voice quiet. Hotch waved a hand slightly.

“It’s okay,” he said, softly. Elle nodded, then perked up again.

“We ready to go then?” she asked. Hotch nodded. “After you.” Elle gestured down the hall with Hotch’s bag, and he did his best not to limp on his way out the door. He was a little surprised by just how relieved he felt to be leaving his hospital room for the last time, but then again, he’d always hated hospitals.

Hotch led Elle through the corridors towards the front entrance, working his way up to achieving something approaching his usual walking speed and stride length before he started to feel slight twinges in his abdomen from pulling at his stitches. He wondered if it was obvious to Elle that he’d committed the fastest exit route to memory.

His mood immediately improved when they passed through the sliding doors of the main entrance into the natural light and fresh air of the outdoors. Letting Elle pass him and lead the way to her car, he paused briefly to take several deep breaths, purging the antiseptic smell of the hospital from his nose. This almost backfired on him when the influx of new smells- grass, flowers, car exhaust- threatened to send him into a sneezing fit. Hearing his sharp intake of breath, Elle turned around and quickly took a few steps closer so she could brace his shoulder with her hand.

“Easy there, Boss-Man,” she said. “The last thing you want to do is reopen something.” Hotch held his breath, squeezing his eyes shut until the urge to sneeze passed.

“I’m okay,” he said. “I’m okay.” He waved one hand vaguely, his other hovering near his face.

“You sure?” Elle asked. “‘Cause I can take you back in there.” Her face was deadpan but he could tell she was joking. Hotch shook his head slightly. 

“Please don’t. I’m fine,” he said, more firmly than his previous assurances. “I’d just like to get out of here.” Elle nodded sympathetically.

“The getaway car’s just in the next parking lot,” she said, and they both started walking in the direction she indicated. “You owe me the parking charges, by the way.” Hotch smiled slightly.

“I thought you still owed me for stealing my lunch when we were in Oregon,” he said lightly. Elle laughed.

“I don’t remember any stealing being involved. It was more like scavenging. Recycling, even. Redistribution of resources for the common good,” she said, grinning.

“Don’t make me quote legal definitions at you, Agent Greenaway,” joked Hotch, raising his eyebrows at her. Elle held her hands up in a mock-defeated gesture.

“Okay, okay, you win. I’ll pay for the parking and we’ll call it even.” She chuckled slightly as she fished around in her pocket for her car keys. A few seconds later, they rounded a large truck and Elle’s car was in full view. A red convertible, Hotch had always thought that it was one of those cars that suited the personality of its owner almost perfectly.

“No Bureau SUV?” Hotch asked. Elle shook her head.

“I’m driving you home in style,” she said, shoving Hotch’s bag into the back. Then she turned, pointed at him. “You’d better not bleed on my seats.”

“I’ll do my best,” Hotch said, his slight smile disappearing into a frown of concentration as he embarked on the awkward task of folding himself into the passenger seat. Once he was in, he quickly located the adjustment lever and pushed the seat back to give himself a bit more room. Elle watched him attentively, making sure he didn’t have any trouble before sliding much more easily into the driver’s seat.

“All good?” she asked. Hotch nodded, and Elle turned the key in the ignition, revving the convertible into life. As she reversed out of the parking space, Hotch closed his eyes, feeling the vibrations of the engine through his entire body. He’d missed that sensation during his stay in the hospital. It was good to be out.

* * *

 When they finally pulled up and parked alongside Hotch’s apartment building, he didn’t argue when Elle once again retrieved his bag for him and hovered slightly as he gingerly clambered out of the vehicle. Usually he’d object to the fuss, but he knew a losing argument when he saw one. He did however frown slightly when Elle set off ahead of him, leading the way into the building with apparent familiarity. Seeing his expression, Elle smiled, and was it his imagination or did she look slightly self-conscious?

“I was meaning to tell you,” she said, stopping in front of the elevator and pulling what Hotch recognised as his spare keys from one of her pockets. “This isn’t my first time here.” The elevator doors opened as soon as she pressed the call button, interrupting him before he could ask the obvious question. “I’ll explain once we’re up there,” she said. Accepting this with a nod, Hotch stepped into the elevator after her, and they spent the brief ride up to his floor in silence. He was quietly grateful that she’d taken the choice of whether to use the stairs out of his hands.

They exited the elevator and walked down the corridor to his apartment door, and the first thing Hotch noticed was that the lock had been changed.

“Here,” said Elle, passing him a single key. He took it and unlocked the door, but paused before he actually opened it. In his most recent memory of this apartment, he was lying on his back on the floor, Foyet on top of him and a knife in his chest. Hotch swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

There were a few differences that he noticed at once. A second deadbolt had been installed on the inside of the door, and there was a new security system mounted on the wall nearby. It made no noise, apparently having been left unarmed by the last person to leave the apartment. Other than the additional security, however, it looked much the same as it always had.

Hotch took another deep breath, and realised that he could smell the faintest whiff of ammonia. He took a few steps into the room, steeling himself before looking behind the sofa. Any blood that would have been there, his blood, was gone. He turned to look at Elle, suddenly realising why she had his spare keys.

“Did you...?” he asked, trailing off. She nodded. “Elle, you didn’t have to-”

“Yes, I did,” she said, cutting across him. “Hotch, when I got shot, when that bastard wrote on my wall in my blood, you were the one who showed up in the middle of the night to clean it up. And you didn’t even tell me! I found out from Morgan because I thought it had been him and he corrected me. The least I could do was return the favour.” Hotch stared at her, a pang of emotion in his chest.

“I didn’t know you knew. You never said.” Elle laughed slightly.

“You’re not the only profiler on the team, Hotch. I knew you’d be awkward about it, so I never brought it up. But thank you. It meant more than you could have known. If you hadn’t, I… don’t think I’d have ever felt safe in that house again.” Hotch held her gaze for a long moment, the complicated emotions he was feeling not quite making it to his face. “You know, this is usually when you’d say ‘thank you’ back,” said Elle, breaking the silence with a gentle smile. Hotch blinked and ducked his head bashfully.

“Thank you,” he said, and meant it. Elle’s previous statement was wrong now. He did know how much a gesture like that could mean. They stood there for a long moment, until Elle broke the silence.

“Right,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Time to do something about the rest of this place.” Hotch frowned.

“What...?” he said. Elle gave him a look.

“Have you seen your apartment recently, Hotchner? It’s dingy and miserable, like a bachelor depression pad. And no-one’s vacuumed in here for over a week. There’s no way I’m leaving you here while it’s in this state.” Hotch blinked. This was unexpected.

“I, uh, I’ll go get the vacuum cleaner, then,” Hotch said, but Elle shook her head.

“Oh no you won’t. You’re under doctor’s orders not to do anything strenuous, Boss-Man. So you’re going to sit on that sofa, and you’re going to tell me where you keep your cleaning products.” She paused, pulled a face. “And possibly give me some tips, because I’m not the best at housework.”

“Elle, I can’t ask you to-” Hotch started to say, frowning, but she cut across him again.

“You’re not asking, and neither am I. So, come on, Hotch. Are you going to tell me where things are, or do I have to profile your apartment? Because trust me, neither of us wants that.” Hotch finally just had to laugh.

“Okay, you win,” he said, leaning on the back of the sofa as he conceded defeat. “The vacuum cleaner is in a closet off the hall. I don’t know why I try and argue with you.”

“Because you’re almost as stubborn as I am,” said Elle, grinning as she walked around the corner that led back to the hallway.

As she did so, Hotch noticed one other thing that was different about his apartment: on the wall, right over the spot Foyet had put a bullet through, a small picture frame was hanging from a nail. He pushed off the sofa and took a few steps closer so he could see the photo in the frame. He smiled when he saw it, the most genuine smile he’d been able to muster in weeks.

In the photo, all eight members of his team were stood with their arms around each other. The Santa hat and reindeer sweater Garcia was wearing revealed that it was one of the potential Christmas card photos she had insisted they take together during last year’s holiday season. JJ, himself, Reid, Prentiss, Garcia, Rossi, Elle, Morgan; as he looked from smiling face to smiling face and listened to Elle clattering around in his hallway, Hotch was finally able to articulate something to himself that he hadn’t managed to during his stay in the hospital. He was terrified for Haley and Jack, equal parts angry and distraught at Foyet’s actions, his own failures, and the consequences of both. The worst of which being that his family had been taken away from him.

But the BAU was his family too. And as Elle returned from the hall, laughed, and waved a successfully retrieved vacuum cleaner menacingly in his direction until he sat on the sofa as ordered, he couldn’t think of anything in the world that would comfort him more.

  
_I guess we're big and I guess we're small_

_If you think about it man you know we got it all_

_Cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball_

_And I love you free_

_I love you freely_

_Here's a riddle for you_

_Find the answer_

_There's a reason for the world:_

_You and I..._

( _The Riddle_ , by Five For Fighting)


End file.
